


Threatening Secrets

by Asexual_Enjolras



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Asexual Character, Asexual Relationship, Asexual Remus Lupin, Asexual Sirius Black, Asexuality, Bullying, Established Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Hogwarts, Homophobia, Homoromantic, James Potter Being an Asshole, James Potter is a Good Friend, Lily Evans Potter & Severus Snape Friendship, M/M, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), Minor Albus Dumbledore/Gellert Grindelwald, Minor James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Past Albus Dumbledore/Gellert Grindelwald, Protective Sirius Black, Remus Lupin & Lily Evans Potter Friendship, Remus Lupin Being an Idiot, Remus Lupin Needs a Hug, Revenge, Secret Relationship, Secrets, Self-Acceptance, Sirius Black & James Potter Friendship, Sirius Black Being an Idiot, Sirius Black is a Good Boyfriend, Werewolf Remus Lupin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:08:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23797432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asexual_Enjolras/pseuds/Asexual_Enjolras
Summary: When Severus Snape gets sick of the bullying he has had to endure at the hands of the Marauders, he takes matters into his own hands and discovers a secret that both Remus Lupin and Sirius Black would rather keep between themselves.At the threat of a public outing, in a time when homosexuality is still deemed 'illegal' within the Wizarding World, the two boys take matters into their own hands and attempt to fight for their freedom and for their love.In doing this, they learn something about their Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, and discover that their love - as they have always believed - is not something that they should have to keep secret.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 120





	Threatening Secrets

***

"Hey, Snivellus!" James grinned, his glasses falling down his nose as he tried to keep up with the Slytherin, whose legs couldn't carry him away quick enough. 

"Leave me alone, Potter." He snarled, rolling his eyes. 

"I saw you speaking to Lily Evans there." James crossed his arms, watching as Snape attempted to ignore him. "Hey!" James shouted. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, you ignorant toad." There was poison in his breath as he sniggered. Peter clapped, his face filled with joy as he watched someone else be picked on for once. James' hand prodded into Severus' shoulder, who fell against the courtyard wall.

The Marauders had grown used to James' vendetta against Severus Snape and they knew better than to tell him to calm it down. Remus, most of all, had tried to balance himself between his morals and his loyatly to his friendship. Lupin was the only one of the four of them not to get involved. He was usually present, of course, because he and his friends were inseparable but he knew better than to involve himself in their mocking.

"Why were you speaking to her?" James asked. 

Snape ignored, again. He just kept walking, clutching his books close to his chest as he tried to keep his clenched fists from flying into James Potter's arrogant face.

"Hey! James asked you a question." Sirius spoke next, barking almost.

"Sirius - come on." Remus begged, quietly. He knew better than to try to reason with James when he had something in his mind. James was beyond reason when he was in this state, especially when it revolved around Lily Evans. But Sirius was different. He was softer when Remus asked him to calm down. "Sirius - it's not worth it and you know it isn't." 

Sirius hesitated before turning to the auburn haired boy, his eyes soft. 

"It's fine, Moony." 

"No, Pads, it's not fine." Remus said. "Look, I'm going inside."

James grabbed Sirius' sleeve, pulling him round.

"Tell him, Pads. Tell him to explain why he was talking to Lily."

"He told you not to speak to her, Snivels." Peter joined in, standing in line with his two friends.

Sirius' eyes shone as he sniggered.

"You may as well tell him." He added, folding his arms. Remus stood behind them, his head shaking. Of course, he was used to this as much as the others and he concluded that Severus must be too, so it wasn't completely terrible. Just the other day Severus had snapped at Lily. That was the last straw for James.

"She doesn't need your filthy apologies." James taunted. "In fact, she doesn't need you at all, you filthy little Slytherin."

"James!" Lily's screech made even Remus jump. Her bright locks bounced as she ran in front of Severus, facing the three Marauders with a look of disgust. "I do not need you to fight for me." She said. "Not like this."

"He was rude to you, Lils."

"My name is Lily." She put her foot down, rolling her eyes. "And yes, he was, but he has apologised."

"He doesn't deserve your kindness, Lily." Sirius let out, his voice soft. "He really doesn't. He doesn't deserve your friendship." 

"Maybe not-" Lily said, and before she could continue Severus' words cut in.

"I don't need friendship from a filthy mudblood like her anyway." Severus gritted his teeth, his words like poison.

Remus felt his heart stop and his mouth fall agape, his eyes reverting to Sirius. The smaller boy's instant reaction was to grab his best friend and pull him back. James' face was burning, his voice flaming like lava.

"You hateful, disgusting snake." James rambled.

"Lily - I didn't mean it." Severus begged.

"We were friends, once." Lily's voice was broken, her head banging. 

"He's not worth it - James, come on!" Remus screamed. "Prongs!" James wasn't listening, his wand was out and he was growling. "Sirius! Do something." He screeched again, feeling completely useless. It was only three days after he had transformed, his body was still recovering from the pain and he couldn't get involved physically. "Sirius!" He pleaded again. Sirius was not focusing on anything but the broken expression painted on Severus' face. "Christ!" Remus threw his robe down, racing towards James and jumping in front of his wand. "Walk away." He ordered. "Walk away before it's too late."

Sirius pulled him back.

"Don't get yourself killed for him, Rem." He said through grievous pain.

"We have to go!" Remus shouted, making Sirius nod in agreement, using all of his strength to pull James away from the scene. 

Behind them, Severus' head was bowed, his eyes welling up. Remus felt for him, slightly, he really did. 

"I am sorry, Severus." Remus spoke in a tender tone, his words as genuine as he could make them given the circumstances.

"You - you're not entitled to feel sorry on their behalf." He spat. "You're just as much to blame."

Remus felt a twinge in his chest, his eyes averting from the broken Slytherin. He had meant to be sincere in his apology but he supposed that that was no use now. 

***

"That fucking snake!" James continued to rant, even after they arrived in the Gryffindor commom room. Sirius and Peter were ranting too, their voices filled with hate for the Slytherin boy.

"Are you alright?" Remus turned his attention to Lily, who was attempting the best she could to contain her emotions. In all honesty, she wanted nothing more than to burst into tears. She had never felt so betrayed in her entire life. Severus was supposed to be her friend, how could he be so hateful of her kind?

"Yes, thank you." Lily said, taking a deep breath in.

"You can talk to me, Lils." 

"I'd rather - I'm going to go to bed, if it's all the the same to you." She ran her finger across his face. "You're a good friend, Remus." She smiled. "Thank you for asking." It was more of a dig at James for not, if she was going to tell the full truth. He hadn't asked her how she was feeling, he was just angry himself.

"Pure blood Slytherins always think they are better than others." Sirius interrupted, putting emphasis on the word 'Slytherins', his own beliefs far from the ones that his family held.

Lily just smiled.

"We all appreciate you." He said, taking a seat beside his boyfriend, who was twiddling his thumbs.

"Thank you." Lily smiled again. "Goodnight, boys." She bowed out.

"Goodnight, Evans." James wanted to hold out his hand and pull her into a hug but he didn't, he respected her need for privacy and simply smiled at her, marvelling in her beauty as he often did. Once she had exited to her bedroom, James spoke again. "This won't be the last we hear of Severus, I'm sure of it." 

"We have been picking on him for over five years now." Remus said, his chest twitching again. "It won't surprise me if he already has his revenge planned." 

"Not on you." Sirius said, softly. "You've not once hurt him." He smiled. "You're too kind for that, Moony." He ran his hand through his auburn hair, feeling the softness soothe his soul. Before Remus could argue, Peter cut in.

"I haven't done anything either." He said, trying to tell himself that.

"You two are sickeningly cute." James ignored Peter, his effort to argue too far gone now. Sirius felt his heart dance, smirking at his friend.

"Oh yeah?" He grinned. Remus' head fell into Sirius' lap, curling up slightly.

"Yeah." He smiled. "It's a shame we have to keep it so secret." He winked.

"No it's not." Peter crossed his arms. "Otherwise they'd never be off one another." 

"Are you saying that you are glad our love is illegal?" Sirius teased, folding his own arms to imitate his small, round friend. Peter flushed pink, his mouth twitching. 

"No - no - of course not - I didn't mean it like that." 

Homosexuality was legalised in the Muggle world within the United Kingdom in 1967 under new laws passed, but the Wizarding World had not quite caught up. Of course, blood status was a more pressing matter than a person's sexuality but both Remus and Sirius were aware of the implications if they were found out. They had to be. It was always in the media. Sirius, being a member of the Black family, was aware of the dangers that faced their relationship. There was a notion passing through the Ministry of Magic in order to legalise the notion of homosexuality but he knew that there would still be the same hatred for it from some wizarding families, and he knew that his own would be included.

If they were to be caught then it would be straight to trial, and maybe even Azkaban. 

"Sirius, you know very well that's not what Wormtail meant." Remus gave him a small hit on the arm, sitting up. Peter smiled, nodding at Remus. "He obviously just meant that he wants to see us get even closer when in private." He smirked in turn, making Peter shake his head vigorously.

"I'll tell Professor Dumbledore if you do." Peter warned. "I think we see enough."

"Oh yeah?" Sirius' cheeks grew bashful. "You haven't seen us doing it." 

Remus flinched just as much as Peter did, jumping off of Sirius and narrowing his eyes. James' laugh was deep, he couldn't help but snigger and he had no idea why. He couldn't stop himself.

"On that note, I think it's time for bed." Remus said, simply, averting the conversation.

"Is that an invitation?" Sirius winked.

"Sleep." Remus cried.

"I'm just teasing, Moony." Sirius whispered. "Don't worry." He gave him a small hug.

"Come on." James couldn't stop laughing. "Let's all go to sleep." 

***

"Oh, look, here you are." Severus laughed, clasping his nose, which was bloodied. "Come to have a go too?" He spat.

"I don't know what you mean." Sirius said, simply. "But I'm sure you deserved what you got."

Severus' laugh was dark, the circles under his bruised eyes matching.

"Potter - and his little Quidditch friends-"

"James did this?" Remus took a step back, shaking his head at his friend's idiocy. Dumbledore would not stand for this sort of physical assault, there was no way.

"Of course he did."

"You did call his girlfriend a 'mudblood', Snape." Sirius justified it with a shrug.

"Maybe so." He sniped. "But that's not his fight to make."

"You deserved it, in my opinion." 

"Then you deserve what's coming to you." Severus warned.

"Oh, is that a threat?" Sirius stepped closer to the skinnier boy, making the Slytherin snigger.

"I hope it burns you." 

"Good luck, Snivellus." He rolled his eyes. "Nothing can hurt us."

"Secrets can hurt anyone." He snarled, his tone conniving. "If they come out."

"Come out, huh?" Sirius laughed. "Maybe you should come out as a snake."

"Sirius." Remus warned, his eyes wide at the wording that the Slytherin has chosen. Sirius laughed, his snort almost inaudible. He may not understand the other boy but he was well aware that those words were not accidental. "Come on." 

"What? Have you not got something to add?" Severus turned to Remus, his teeth gritting. "Moony?" Snape's eyes were like daggers in Remus' chest as he stumbled backwards slightly, suddenly feeling a wave of uneasiness draw through his veins. "Do you not want to make a bite?" The words were drawn out, offering little chance of misinterpretation.

Remus' heart was beating faster than it ever had before, his eyes wide as he backed into the wall, biting his lip.

"What the fuck are you insinuating, Snivellus?" Sirius' fists clenched.

"You know fine well." Severus said. "I saw you - on that map of yours."

"What?" Remus couldn't depict whether Sirius was just claiming to act dumb or whether he just hadn't caught up.

"Full moons really can be beautiful, can't they?" He said, with a shrug, wiping the blood from his still bleeding nose. It had ran down onto his green tie, its tone staining the tie red. In the lighting, if the boys had not known what Snape was, it could have looked as though he was a Gryffindor student.

"No." Sirius let the words sink in - stammering.

"No?" Severus laughed. "I've read that they are - I'm assuming that's why you spend so long in the Hospital Wing following one." His mouth was twisted, his words hitting Remus' ears like poison.

"Remus is the only one who has never hurt you, you fucker!" Sirius raced forward, he could feel the anger boiling in his blood, it pulsating through his veins with a rigorous deflection of his hatred for the Slytherin. "Don't you fucking dare." He jumped to the defence of his boyfriend. 

"Why?"

"Because he is the only one that has never hurt you!" He repeated himself, desperately. "Fuck! He's too good to. And he goes through hell every month - you - you don't get to snigger like that. Not about Moony."

Severus just laughed at the idiocy.

"You could have picked on the rest of us. Remus is innocent in this."

Snape couldn't stop himself from sniggering, again, his smirk curving in a callous manner.

"He could have put a stop to this. He could have tried to stop you and your little 'friends'." He sniped. "But he did not." He continued. "Remus is just as guilty as the rest of you. Some Gryffindor."

"No, no he isn't." Sirius cried, his tone desperate but still cold in disgust. "He is the only one that never said a bad word about you." He said. "You're worse than any of us could have ever imagined. How dare you threaten someone as pure as Remus - how dare you threaten his life."

"Leave it now, Sirius." Remus' voice was mousey in comparison to the other two boys, who were now face-to-face. "It doesn't matter." 

"Of course it fucking matters, Moony." Sirius cried, his voice breaking. He didn't mean to deliver the snap towards Remus but he was barely in control of his emotions anymore. He couldn't feel anything but anger in this moment. He let his arms drop, his heart in his mouth. He turned around, throwing his arms around Remus almost instantly. "I didn't mean to snap at you." He said, whispering close into his ear.

Snape's eyes were narrow, his smirk cunning. Of course, he had his suspicions about the pair of them before but this was the proof that he needed.

"How sweet." He said.

Sirius dropped Remus' face carefully, his fingers caressing his cheek, and turned to face the boy with the dark hair again. He walked forward, his teeth gritting as he growled.

"What?" He snapped back.

"This." Severus pointed between the two of them. "Whatever this is." He teased. "It is illegal, you do know that, don't you?" He said. "For good reason, too."

Sirius felt his hand twitch, reaching into his pocket for his wand. He understood straight away this time. There was no room for misinterpretation this time around. He clasped it hard, pointing it into Severus' face. Of course he knew that their relationship was illegal. He had thought about the disgust that his family would feel if they knew about it. He had thought about the risk of being thrown into Azkaban for loving someone so strongly despite it being so wrong. However, for Remus, he did not care so much. His only worry was that Remus would be punished too if they were caught. And for what? For being in love.

They were both well aware of the opinions that other people held about their relationship, their sort of people, but they had pushed that to the back of their minds. They thought they had been careful.

"Say that again." 

"Come on." Remus grabbed Sirius' hand, his body moving quickly. "It's not worth it." He mirrored himself from the previous day. Sirius didn't move, his fingers wrapping tightly around his wand. "Sirius - please. Come on."

"Fuck yourself, Snape." Sirius said, throwing his wand back into his pocket. "Remus never did a thing to you."

"You've said." Severus laughed.

"Sirius - he's not worth it." Remus tugged at his sleeve.

"You have no evidence." Sirius raced into his defence, making himself relax a little. "You have no fucking evidence to back up your claims."

"Don't I?"

"Moony did nothing wrong - you - you're a monster."

"You've said that too." Severus' arms unfolded, his grin wide and cruel.

"You fucking snake." Sirius growled, again. "Remus is too good to do this but-" He raced towards him, his fist clenched. "I'm not quite as compassionate as my Moony." Sirius' hand flew, harshly, into Severus' nose, who fell to the floor with a rigorous bang. "Coward."

"Pads, let's go." Remus tugged at Sirius' hand, pulling him away from the bleeding Slytherin. He turned to Snape and narrowed his light eyes. "He's not worth our time."

***

Sirius could feel his chest aching.

"What are we going to do?" He asked, his eyes watering. "I - I can't lose you."

"Sirius, calm down." Remus said.

"No, you're being too relaxed about this - this is serious, Remus."

"No, you're Sirius." He smirked.

"Stop it." He let out a small laugh, but then retracted it and fell back into his panic. "He knows."

"Dumbledore and our professors already know about my lycanthropy, Sirius, I won't get into trouble for that. You do realise that, don't you? Dumbledore vowed never to let anything happen to me whilst I'm at Hogwarts. Obviously Snape doesn't know that, he can't hold that against me." Remus spoke, in a calm manner. "And Severus can't have evidence of us." 

"He could go above Dumbledore though - to the Ministry." 

"He won't." 

"How can you be sure?"

"I can't. But Dumbledore will fix it even if he does." He smiled. "And as for us - he can't get to us. We're too smart for that. We have never given him any reason to believe we're in a relationship, he just picked up on it outside because we were stressed. We just have to be smart about it now, more than ever."

"Okay." Sirius nodded, relaxing. Remus was always good at calming down situations, that's one of the things that Sirius adored about him. He was so good at rationalizing things. 

The smaller boy took a deep breath in and shuffled over to Remus, curling up beside him, digging his head into his chest and smelling his familiar, warming scent. He felt secure with Remus, he always had. They felt secure together. That's all that really mattered to them. And it was one of the reasons why they could never understand how their love could be so wrong. They needed one another. That wasn't wrong. It never could be, could it?

"When he threatened to share my secret, Sirius, I wasn't worried about me anyway." Remus admitted, breaking the peaceful, loving silence that had fallen over both of them. his voice small. "I - I didn't think he meant my condition at first." He said, making Sirius look up. "I thought he meant - you know? Us. I thought he knew. Well, he does know but - I felt sick because I couldn't lose you, Sirius, not like that." He bit his lip. "Because if this gets out - if people know about us then people will think that we have - you know?" He couldn't bring himself to say it, the mere thought of it made him feel uncomfortable. He just shuffled, wriggling his finger to insinuate what he meant.

Sirius felt his eyebrows raise. He had never thought about that before. They were seventeen. He had never allowed the notion to cross his mind.

"You mean sex?" He said, outright, making Remus squirm internally. He nodded, lightly and paled. He looked as white as paper, which made Sirius uncomfortable in himself. "What about it?" He quizzed, tilting his head.

"People might think - we have." 

"And why would that matter?" Sirius' eyebrows were still raised, his eyes wide to match. He didn't see the issue, personally.

"It - it's illegal." 

"Not in England."

"Sirius, you're a Pure-blood, what do you know of the Muggle world?" Remus rolled his eyes. "It is still - illegal for two people of the same gender to - you know - if they're under the age of 21."

Sirius noted that he was unable to say the word and tilted his head, raising his fingers to his chin and crossing his legs.

"What? Under law?" 

"Yeah - you have to be over 21." 

"It's a good job it's just illegal all together here then, huh?" He teased, winking. Remus' cheeks flushed red, his sight growing fuzzy at the idea. "At least it's not so bad." He laughed. "I'm just joking, Moony." Sirius said, crawling towards the taller boy, who was twiddling his thumbs and had turned to face out of the window. "It's not an invitation to shag me." He ran his hand through his hair.

"Good." Remus wriggled out of his grasp. "Because I won't anyway, even if it was legal here."

"That's fine." Sirius shrugged, as if it was nothing.

"What?" He turned around. He had expected more than that, maybe a protest or Sirius asking why.

"I said it's fine." He smiled, as if it was nothing.

"What is?" Remus was completely baffled. Did he mean that it - the act itself - was fine? Or that it was just fine?

"You being asexual." Sirius grinned, making Remus' mouth fall agape. "It doesn't bother me." He continued, smiling still. His pearly white teeth were almost blinding the other Gryffindor, who had frozen, speechless. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Remus' eyes were fixated on the slender boy in front of him, who was still smirking.

"Alright, I saw you reading that issue of Rolling Stone that was published a few years ago." He laughed. "And I noticed that you had kept hold of it, figured that there was a reason so when I read it and I saw what that Bowie bloke was saying - I figured that you must relate to it or something."

Remus could feel his chest growing tighter. He bit his lip.

"And, you know, it's fine." Sirius said. "In all honesty, I don't really see the point in it either. I'm content with what we have." He said, planting a quick, light kiss on Remus' smooth, flustered cheek. "I mean - I don't really like labels from the Muggle world because there isn't really a point in labeling things: 'Pure Blood', 'Muggle-born' - doesn't matter, 'homosexual', 'straight', 'asexual', who am I to judge?" He shrugged again, as if this was nothing. "You know? There's no point in applying labels but - sex doesn't interest me either." He said. "I know the term 'asexual' means no sexual attraction because I did a bit more research and found some more Muggle papers about it, which means that it's pretty ambiguous but yeah, sex hasn't ever really been something that I've desired." He was rambling now, he knew, but Remus wasn't responding and he was afraid that he had stunned him into silence or said something wrong so he just couldn't stop. "I mean, I fell in love with you because of your intelligence and your desire to learn and to be the best version of yourself, I didn't fall for you because of the way you looked or anything. You being cute was just the added bonus." He giggled. "Plus, when I found out that you were hiding this massive secret and keeping it to yourself and dealing with it alone, I just admired you even more. I thought, "wow", and I fell even more in love with you." He continued. "So, yeah, what I wanted to say is that - it's fine."

Remus still sat with his mouth open, his throat dry. He could feel his eyes watering and his cheeks burning.

"Okay - did I say something wrong? Because you're still staring at me?" 

Remus just let out a small snigger, his voice breaking.

"No." He leant forward, throwing his arms around his boyfriend and planting his lips onto his, lightly. "No, not at all."

He leant backwards, his eyes just studying the features of Sirius' face. His mouth was still structured in its usual quirk, his small lips smiling. He couldn't stop himself.

"You really don't mind?" Remus asked.

Sirius shook his head.

"I just rambled about how much I don't care - I wasn't lying." Sirius said. "I guess you could say we're maybe, possibly, both asexu-"

"We're both fine without the labels." Remus placed his finger to Sirius' lip, grinning.

"Sirius, Remus-" James flew through the door, his voice heavy as he tried his best to catch his breath, panting. "Sorry." He said, noticing the scene in front of him. "Looks like a typical sweet moment but - you have to come quick."

Sirius felt Remus flinch beneath his hold. 

"What is it?" 

James' face was stern, unmoved. His expression painted one of concern, serious concern.

"Prongs? What is it?" 

"Severus." He let out, simply, and instantly Remus' heart dropped from his chest. He paled.

"That fucking dog." Sirius snarled.

***

"He did nothing to you!" Sirius growled, loudly. Everyone in the Great Hall turned to face the direction in which the voice came from to see Sirius' wand pointed at Severus' throat. "You snake!"

Remus was stood behind Sirius, pleading with him to stop.

"I didn't do anything." Severus' voice was shaking, his face pale.

"Coward." James rumbled.

"At least own up to it." Sirius barked.

Severus had painted it in big letters, big, red letters, what Remus and Sirius were. And he was showing no signs of repentance. He had just sentenced the pair of them to trial and possibly Azkaban and he didn't even care. They had always known that Severus was sly and conniving but this was taking it to a whole new level. This was low, even for a Slytherin like Severus, Sirius thought.

"I don't know what you mean." Severus said, still shrugging. His legs were weakening, his voice small.

Lily stood beside James, her hand placed lightly on top of Sirius'. Her red hair was shining in the moonlight, her eyes glistening. Severus' gaze was fixated on her, her red tie complimenting her red hair in the most annoying fashion.

"Just apologise, Sev." Lily ordered. Even when she was attempting to be cruel, her voice was kind and gentle. Severus could feel his eyes straining. "Please."

"Apologise?" James snapped at her, making Lily pull her hand away from him. "Lily - there's no forgiving this." He said, his voice softening. "He's just signed their lives away with his sick excuse of revenge."

"Just because she didn't love you." Sirius barked. "Just because she chose James." He continued, rubbing the salt into to wound. "You just had to ruin somebody else's romance, didn't you, you lonely, pathetic snake?"

"Pads-" Remus tapped his shoulder.

The entire Great Hall had fallen silent.

"You will never have love so you just have to ruin it for everyone else, is that it?"

Remus shuffled closer, his hand resting on top of Sirius' shoulder, pulling him back slightly.

"It - it was a - joke." Severus murmured, his voice smaller than it ever had been before. "It's a - a - a hex - only you can see it."

Sirius lowered his wand.

"You snake." He spat, shaking his head. Remus stepped in front of him, staring directly into Severus' dark, dead eyes.

"It's not nice to fear for your life, is it? To feel humiliated?"

"How would you know?" Remus questioned. "You have no idea what that feels like."

"And I suppose you do?" Severus folded his arms, his arrogance returning now that there was no wand in his face.

"More than anyone." He replied. "As you now well know." Remus said, no emotions visible in his tone. He had become desensitised when speaking about his condition. Severus Snape may have been bullied by his friends for over five years, he may have been humiliated by the Marauders during their years at Hogwarts but Remus had always tried to be empathetic towards him. He had always known what it felt like to be the outsider, afraid of his own shadow. "But you didn't have to become the person that you have hated for so many years."

"You could have stopped them." He gritted his teeth.

"So could you." Remus replied, blankly.

"It wasn't up to me to-" 

"You shouldn't have done this." Lily said, cutting deep into Snape's soul. "Not to Remus."

"I'm sorry, Lily-" 

"No, Severus." Lily put her hand up, shaking her head. "Not this time." She said. "Not after this."

James took Lily's hand and walked away, allowing the girl to finally let out her tears. Peter followed closely behind, biting his nails.

"I reported you to the Ministry." Snape said, down but not defeated.

Remus just closed his eyes and walked away, accepting that this was over. Sirius felt his heart snap.

"I hope it always hurts you to know that she will never love you. Nobody ever can." He said, simply.

***

Dumbledore's light eyes shone in the light of the crescent moon, his robes flowing through the wind that was welcoming itself into his office. Remus shuffled, feeling his skin prickle at the awkward nature of the conversation that they were about to have. Sirius, on the other hand, was feeling sick. They were for sure about to be sent to Azkaban, he could sense it. They were breaking the rules and the law.

"You are aware why you are here, I assume." Professor Dumbledore spoke, at last. Sirius didn't reply, he was unable to bring himself to speak. He felt uneasy. He had never felt more uneasy in all his life. He knew he wasn't guilty. He couldn't ever feel guilty for loving Remus. That didn't sit right with him. "I shall take that as a yes."

Remus sighed.

"Yes, Professor."

"Good." Dumbledore said. "Your good friend, Lily Evans, has explained it all to me." He explained, making Sirius feel even more unwell. "And I have spoken to Mr. Potter and Mr. Pettigrew about this." Remus jumped up, his voice desperate.

"They knew about us, yes, but they haven't done anything wrong." He defended them, without a second thought.

"Mr. Lupin, please sit down." Dumbledore invited, making Remus bite the inside of his mouth, making it bleed.

"Please, Professor - they didn't do anything."

"You are quite right, Mr. Black." Dumbledore said. He had known about their bullying of Severus, of course he had but he had thought it no point to involve himself. He licked his lips, speaking calmly. "They did not do anything." He nodded. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Pettigrew and Miss. Evans did not report your relationship and they did not, in turn, betray your trust."

Remus' stomach churned, horrifically.

"They did right by you." Dumbledore smiled. "And therefore, they did right by me too."

"Excuse me?" Sirius blurted out, which meant he received a small tap from Remus. "I mean - excuse us?"

Remus rolled his eyes at his idiocy, smiling internally. Sirius gave him a little wink, grinning himself. Professor Dumbledore's face was still soft, his voice softening too.

"I am not of the same opinion as the Minister of Magic, Mr. Black." Dumbledore's usually bellowing voice was kinder, softer than Sirius was used to. "I do not believe that any kind of love is negative."

Remus blinked.

"Does the Ministry know?"

"They do not." Dumbledore said. "And they will not. I will deal with Mr. Snape."

"He knows about my lycanthropy."

"He does." Dumbledore agreed. "But he did not mention it to me."

"The Ministry-" Sirius interjected.

"He has not spoken with them." Dumbledore reassured them. "You are perfectly safe here at Hogwarts, Remus. I promise you that." He smiled. "You will graduate from my school, just as I swore on your 11th birthday."

"Thank you, Professor."

"And you must not worry yourself about your relationship, boys." He explained. "The Ministry of Magic has not made a prosecution since Gellert Grindelwald in 1898."

Remus and Sirius both glanced at each other, their eyes meeting.

"Grindelwald, Professor?" Sirius quizzed. Remus only knew of Gellert Grindelwald because Sirius had told him the story, and Sirius only knew of the rumours because his family were obsessed with the tale.

"We received a warning in 1898." Dumbledore nodded. "And the Ministry agreed that there are more pressing matters than a wizard's sexuality following his incarceration in 1899. No wizard, nor witch, has been prosecuted for their sexuality since. I assure you."

Remus studied their Headmaster with a new understanding; he was just like them.

"Wait - Grindelwald was into men?"

"Sirius-"

Remus turned to face him, signalling at their Professor with wide eyes and a desperation for the other boy to understand.

"Oh - oh!" Sirius' mouth fell open, tilting into a grin.

"Now, you boys had better get some rest." Dumbledore clapped.

"Professor?" Remus asked.

"Yes, my boy." 

"Could you not punish Severus?"

Sirius' ears couldn't believe what they were hearing. He tapped Remus' shoulder, shaking his head.

"Only - my friends and I have made him feel uncomfortable for over five years." Remus said, his voice mousey. "We bullied him, Professor. I think that is punishment enough." 

"You are too kind, Moony."

"Thank you, Remus." Dumbledore bowed. Lupin took the hint and followed Sirius out of the office.

"I love you." Sirius said, pulling him into a hug. "He could have ruined your life and you still had to be good."

"We ruined his first." Remus said.

"Maybe so. But he isn't a nice person like you are."

"We must be better, Sirius." Remus said. "Now more than ever."

Sirius nodded, agreeing. Remus could feel his blood running through his veins.

"We can't be bullies anymore." 

"I'm not apologising to him." 

Remus rolled his eyes, laughing.

"Always so stubborn." He nudged him.

"Fine." He said. "I'll say sorry for the torment but not for the hatred, that was clearly well placed." 

"Padfoot."

"Moony."

"Come on." He said, grabbing Sirius' hand and pulling him behind him down the corridor. "We have the rest of our lives to plan for." Remus grinned.

"Yes, we do." Sirius pulled him into a light kiss.

Remus felt his heart relax into a regular beat. It may have been too late, they may have tormented Severus Snape for too long already but this was their chance to make a positive step towards change and towards happiness. This was their time.

"And with no more secrets." Sirius said.

"I'm not telling people about my lycanthropy, Sirius."

"Shut up - you know what I meant."

"Of course." Remus grinned, following his boyfriend to the Gryffindor common room.

***


End file.
